Si thin-film solar cells using SiH 2Cl 2 by rf plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

Abstract

The fabrication of p–i–n structured Si thin-film solar cells by rf plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PE-CVD) of a SiH 2Cl 2–H 2 mixture is presented. A novel p-type nanocrystalline Si:H:Cl film was synthesized from H 2-diluted SiH 2Cl 2 and SiCl 4 which showed high conductivity and low optical absorption in the visible and near-infrared regions. An efficiency of 6.2% was achieved in a-Si:H:Cl p–i–n structured solar cells fabricated for the first time from a SiH 2Cl 2–H 2 mixture at a substrate temperature T s of 340 °C despite using a single chamber system. Thus, in addition to SiH 4, SiH 2Cl 2 is also a possible candidate for a source material for fabricating Si thin-film solar cells using PE-CVD at low temperatures.